Abstract
In this paper we first develop an approximate theory for the leading order concentration dependence of the sedimentation coefficient for rodlike colloids/polymers/macromolecules. To first order in volume fraction φ of rods, the sedimentation coefficient is written as 1+αφ. For large aspect ratios L/D (L is the rod length, D its thickness) α is found to vary like ∝(L/D)2/ln(L/D). This theoretical prediction is compared to experimental results. Then, experiments on fd virus are described, both in the isotropic and nematic phase. First-order in concentration results for this very long and thin (semiflexible) rod are in agreement with the above-mentioned theoretical prediction. Sedimentation profiles for the nematic phase show two sedimentation fronts. This result indicates that the nematic phase becomes unstable with the respect to isotropic phase during sedimentation.
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